Reevaluating the Kripke-Putnam thesis

Authors

  • Pierre Baumann

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36517/arf.v5i9.19016

Keywords:

Kripke-Putnam thesis. Natural kind terms. Reference. Rigidity. Semantic underdetermination.

Abstract

This paper challenges the Kripke-Putnam thesis about natural kind terms, according to which natural kind terms are referential and rigid. I argue that natural kind terms are semantically underdetermined expressions, and are therefore intrinsically neither referential nor rigid. After reviewing Kripke’s and Putnam’s original arguments, I look at examples of natural kind terms discussed by them and others in the literature, aiming to show that they are indeed semantically underdetermined. I conclude that contextualist considerations should be taken into account to explain the differing truth-conditional values these expressions may have.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2013-01-01

How to Cite

Baumann, P. (2013). Reevaluating the Kripke-Putnam thesis. Argumentos - Revista De Filosofia, 5(9). https://doi.org/10.36517/arf.v5i9.19016

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 9

Section

Diversos

License

Argumentos magazine is licensed under an International Creative Commons Attribution License.

The Magazine uses CC BY inclusion

1) The authors retain the copyright granted to the magazine or the right to initial publication, with the work regularly licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution, which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this magazine.

2) The authors are authorized to contract additional applicable contracts, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (for example, publication in the institutional repository or as a chapter of the book), recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal.

3) Authors are authorized and encourage to publish and distribute their work online (for example, in institutional repositories or on their personal pages) at any time before or during the editorial process, as they can generate productive changes, as well as increase the impact and reference of published work.